'Teenagers are into perfect-looking things': Dating, sexual attitudes and experiences of adolescents with severe obesity.
Órla Walsh, Elizabeth Dettmer, Andrea Regina and 4 others
PMID 34873741WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with severe obesity valued personality and trust in ideal partners but avoided dating due to fear of rejection.
Those who were sexually active often engaged in risky behaviours like substance use and inconsistent contraception, contradicting their stated values.
Key findings
01Most participants avoided in-person dating due to fear of rejection and body size, with 78.9% showing delayed romantic development.
02Among the six participants who were sexually active, five engaged in risky behaviours such as underage substance use and inconsistent contraception.
03Participants prioritized personality, trust, and friendship over physical appearance in their idealized relationships.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Small sample size (n=19) limits generalizability. Participants were recruited from a tertiary obesity management programme, meaning they were already engaged in care and may not represent adolescents with severe obesity who do not seek treatment. The study is qualitative and cannot establish causality or prevalence of these behaviours in the broader population. Findings rely on self-reported experiences from adolescents, which may be subject to recall bias or social desirability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that obesity causes risky sexual behaviour or that these behaviours are universal among adolescents with severe obesity. This is a small qualitative study of 19 patients in a specific clinic, and it describes their lived experiences rather than proving a causal link or estimating prevalence in the general population.